Free Maggy's Child by Karen Robards Page B

calling Lyle every filthy name she could think of. Not for the first time, she took the true measure of just how ruthless Lyle was prepared to be in their war over David. She had to face the truth: Lyle would use any weapon that came to hand to turn David finally and absolutely against her, even if he hurt David in the process. To tell a young boy that his mother had once been the next thing to a whore was absolutely unforgivable.
    Maggy remembered the “present” Nick had given her that morning and went cold.
    Lyle did not know about her brief career as a dancer. He must never find out. He must never come into possession of those pictures, or that tape. If he did, one use he would make of them would be to show them to David. She knew it now with a hideous certainty. What David would think of her then she shuddered to imagine.
    There was one defense left to her, of course. But unless she was prepared to break her husband’s hold on the boy by destroying David himself, she could not use it. It was too late now to tell the truth.
    “Mrs. Forrest, your husband sent me out to fetch you. He says will you please come in now, as your guests will be arriving soon.”
    Maggy glanced up, surprised to find a wooden-faced waiter addressing her. She had been so lost in thought that she had never even seen him approach. In honor of her birthday, Lyle was hosting a dinner party for family, friends, and business associates. He did so every year, as an official kickoff to the Derby festivities, and to prove to the world what a devoted husband he was. The hypocrisy ofit made Maggy sick, but there was nothing she could do but smile and bear it. She just hoped she didn’t overhear any comments about how surprisingly well Lyle’s unfortunate marriage had worked out, as she had the previous year.
    If she did, she feared she might vomit.
    “What time is it?” Maggy was surprised to discover that it was twilight. So intent had she been on David that the sun had set without her noticing.
    “A little after six, ma’am.”
    The party was scheduled to begin at seven. The dress she had chosen for the evening would have been packed by Louella in a discreet garment bag along with appropriate accessories and matching shoes, and passed from Tipton to the ladies’ locker room attendant by now. Tipton was then supposed to round up David and convey him home. Louella would be there, as would Virginia, who had pronounced herself too old and unfit for dinner parties several years earlier. David would very likely pass a pleasant evening watching TV and playing cards with his grandmother in her suite, so there was no sense worrying about him. Virginia might not choose to champion her daughter-in-law, but she adored David. She would see at a glance that he was upset, and do her best to cheer him up.
    David would be fine. With the resiliency of childhood, he had probably already put their last exchange out of his mind. In the morning would be soon enough to talk to him about what Lyle had said. Maybe she should tell David more about her past, or at least the parts that he could know. He knew she had grown up poor, that she had no family left alive, and that she had never lived the way the Forrests did and had done since time immemorial. But that was really all he knew. Maybe it was time to tell David her own story, or at least the parts of it that were safe for him to hear.
    But she would think more about that later. Now shehad to put on a happy face for their guests, or face Lyle’s wrath.
    She was not up to that twice in one day. Winging another mental ill-wish at her husband, Maggy got to her feet.
    “Tell Mr. Forrest that I’m getting dressed, and I’ll join him directly,” she said. The waiter bowed and hurried off.
    Not quite an hour later, Maggy emerged from the Club’s plush locker room, freshly showered and made-up, her hair washed and blow-dried so that it hung in a thick fall of auburn waves down her back. The diamond drops that dangled from